Some Like It Hot (1959)

When two male musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Billy Wilder (screenplay), I.A.L. Diamond (screenplay)

Stars:

Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon

Top Rated Movies #118 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 10 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marilyn Monroe	...	Sugar Kane Kowalczyk
Tony Curtis	...	Joe / Josephine / Shell Oil Junior
Jack Lemmon	...	Jerry / Daphne
George Raft	...	Spats Colombo
Pat O'Brien	...	Detective Mulligan
Joe E. Brown	...	Osgood Fielding III
Nehemiah Persoff	...	Little Bonaparte
Joan Shawlee	...	Sweet Sue
Billy Gray	...	Sig Poliakoff
George E. Stone	...	Toothpick Charlie
Dave Barry	...	Beinstock
Mike Mazurki	...	Spats' Henchman
Harry Wilson	...	Spats' Henchman
Beverly Wills	...	Dolores
Barbara Drew	...	Nellie

Storyline

When two Chicago musicians, Joe and Jerry, witness the the St. Valentine's Day massacre, they want to get out of town and get away from the gangster responsible, Spats Colombo. They're desperate to get a gig out of town but the only job they know of is in an all-girl band heading to Florida. They show up at the train station as Josephine and Daphne, the replacement saxophone and bass players. They certainly enjoy being around the girls, especially Sugar Kane Kowalczyk who sings and plays the ukulele. Joe in particular sets out to woo her while Jerry/Daphne is wooed by a millionaire, Osgood Fielding III. Mayhem ensues as the two men try to keep their true identities hidden and Spats Colombo and his crew show up for a meeting with several other crime lords.

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Plot Keywords:

sex comedy | comedy of errors | disguise | all girl band | friendship | 

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Taglines:

The movie too HOT for words!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 April 1959 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Not Tonight, Josephine!

Filming Locations:

Coronado Beach, Coronado, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,883,848 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$25,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ashton Productions, The Mirisch Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tony Curtis had been going to analysis as much as four times a week for several years. And when the time came for him to appear on the set in drag for the first time, Jack Lemmon had to take him by the hand and literally pull him out of his dressing room

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Goofs

Osgood mentions a full moon twice, but there is no sign of a full moon in the relevant night-time scenes.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mulligan: All right, Charlie; that the joint?
Toothpick Charlie: Yes, sir.
Mulligan: Who runs it?
Toothpick Charlie: I already told you.
Mulligan: Refresh my memory.
Toothpick Charlie: Spats Columbo.
Mulligan: That's very refreshing; what's the password?
Toothpick Charlie: "I've come to Grandma's funeral." Here's your admission card.
[he gives Mulligan a mourning armband]
[...]

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Alternate Versions

Video version contains extended exit music after the film.

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Connections

Referenced in Prick Up Your Ears (1987)

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Soundtracks

Randolph Street Rag
(1958) (uncredited)
Music by Adolph Deutsch

User Reviews

The Perfect Comedy

Why a man would want to marry another man? asks Tony Curtis, Security! Jack Lemmon replays without missing a beat. Clearly he had put the question to himself before and had arrived to a perfectly sensible conclusion. Everything in this gem of a movie had been thought so cleverly and as it turned out so prophetically, that the world of our three characters, a world of prohibition and gang wars could be today and more than likely will be tomorrow. Billy Wilder analyzes human nature with an acid eye and a glorious panache for underlining our most endearing features. Our frailties. Marilyn Monroes is at her pick, the sadness in her eyes a startling metaphor in a comedy about wanting. Tony Curtis with an Eve Arden's pout is so beautiful, so charming, imitating Cary Grant and trying to be himself that, in my mind he'll be always be in a frock. And, of course, Jack Lemmon, throwing himself into the part, body and should. Only perfection can allow to end its course with a line like "Nobody's perfect"